Just imagine...Catwoman would look like Black Widow and have a personal life that’s part Millie The Model and part Peter Parker. In other words...lame. At least the back-up (writer: Michael Uslan/artists: Darwyn Cooke & Mike Allred) is passable.

Only just got into this series, but I really dug the idea of the characters from fables – the Big Bad Wolf, Snow White, Little Boy Blue, Old King Cole, etc – living in exile in New York City. The plot in this first arc was a bit convoluted, but didn’t detract from the overall story. I dug this very much and will track down more trades soon.

I picked up all the Fables titles at Elizabeth’s Books for about $12 in total. So it was nice to read the series’ beginnings plus two later pivotal episodes in the series. I just dug the hell out of Fables.

29. Blandman (Eclipse, 1992) DUD

Writer: Fred Schiller/Artists: Bill Maus & Bob Hanon

How the mighty had fallen – in the mid-80s, Eclipse produced groundbreaking titles like Miracleman. By 1992, they were vomiting out shitty Vertigo parodies like this. Godawful in-jokes (and not funny ones either). Horrible in every way.

This idea is pretty dumb – “dead” icons Tupac Shakur, Elvis Presley, Jim Morrison, Andy Kaufman and Bruce Lee are actually an elite team of super-spies – but it’s written with such joie de vivre, and the art is more than competent, so I actually got a buzz reading it. I really hope there’s a second ish.

37. Lady Mechanika #2 (Aspen, 2011) ***¼

Writer/artist: Joe Benitez

I love steampunk.

38. Desolation Jones #1 (Wildstorm, 2005) ****

Writer: Warren Ellis/Artist: JH Williams III

An unexpected treat. This short-lived indie series reminds me of Hellblazer, but it’s got its own style as well. Jones is kinda like a private detective for the ex-spy community exiled to LA. We meet him as he’s trying to recover some missing porn films starring Adolph Hitler. If this series maintains the quality of the first issue, I can’t wait to read the other seven.

39. City Of Silence #3 (Image, 2000) *

Writer: Warren Ellis/Artist: Gary Erskine

You can’t hit home runs every time. This final ish in a three-part series is just really lame cyber-punk. Pffft.

40. Baltimore: The Plague Ships (Dark Horse, 2010) ***¼

Writer: Mike Mignola & Christopher Golden/Artist: Ben Stenbeck

41. Art & Story #1 (James D. Denney, 1976) **

High-quality fanzine that I picked up for a buck at Elizabeth’s in Sydney. Columns by CC Beck and Nicola Cuti (on E-Man years before he revived the title for First Comic)

42. Pacific Presents #1 (Pacific, 1982) ***½

Writer/artist: Dave Stevens (The Rocketeer)

Writer/artist: Steve Ditko (The Missing Man)

Dave Stevens AND Steve Ditko lunacy? That’s frigging awesome!

43. Calvario Hills #1 (Fantagraphics, 2007) **¾

Writer/artist: Marti

Very high quality weirdness. The racism was unsettling. As was the surrealism. A little bit Hernandez Bros. in nature. Just weird.

44.-46. The Rampaging Hulk #5, #6, #8 (Marvel, 1977-78) ***

Writers: various/Artists: various

My fave Hulk series ever. Fuck Marvel for retconning it out of existence. And each mag only cost me a buck from Elizabeth’s. Bargain!